I’m a sucker for the future. Give me nanites, lasers, mechs, robots. Then blow them all up. Go further. Tell me stories about those that come after: the post apocalyptic survivors of a world built atop the ruins of the last. I’m a sucker for deckbuilders, too, especially when they’re also roguelikes, particularly when they’re brimming with clever ideas, and notably when those are woven into encounters that demand a choice between morality and material reward.

Nowhere Prophet should have left me exalted, but unfortunately it doesn’t end up going anywhere.

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Card-slinging tactical roguelike Nowhere Prophet has a release date locked in, and it’s exactly one month away, landing on July 19th. Rather than re-tread tired ground, Sharkbomb Studios are blending genres and wrapping them around a fresh Indian-inspired take on dusty sci-fi worlds, giving it a distinct look and sound. There are complex multi-lane battles between building decks and managing a nomadic caravan on a strategic level, a bit like The Banner Saga by way of FTL with a dash of Slay The Spire. I could see this being the next big thing for deck-builders.

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It’s been over a year since Sharkbomb Studio’s rad-looking card-based roguelike Nowhere Prophet last made camp at the RPS Treehouse, but since then the game has disappeared from its early access pilgrimage on Itch and set its ever-expanding caravan towards a full release later this summer. Based on a recent build I played at PAX East recently, I’d say it’s shaping up to be one hell of a trip.

In case you missed Adam’s Nowhere Prophet preview last year, this is an open deck builder where the members of your caravan are the cards you play across two-to-four-lane battlefields as you lead them toward a fabled land known rather ominously as ‘The Crypt’ – the last peaceful stronghold on your home planet of Soma. Yes, there are probably ‘metaphors’ aplenty ahead with a name like that for your final destination, but even after my brief time with the game it’s clear there’s a lot more to this post-apocalyptic sci-fi world than meets the eye.

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A large dog-like creature had been sniffing around our camp while we slept. The road hadn’t been kind to us and our food supplies were running low. Truth be told, my own altruistic streak was responsible for most of our problems; we’d picked up stragglers and waifs wherever we found them, and had far too many mouths to feed.

But this dog-thing was not joining us, it was trying to steal from us. One of my medics reckoned he knew how to deal with it, no confrontation necessary. To my surprise, he got a group together and simply dragged its bulk away from the camp, and then tipped it into a ravine.

As far as I can tell, it remained passive right up until the moment it hit the floor. Nowhere Prophet is a beautiful game set in a strange and ugly world.

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